Archive | 2011-12 Season

This coming season, like many over the last 10 years, will see the Hokies struggling with the fact they have almost no depth on the interior post. Well, Coach Johnson is trying to doing something about that, at least for the future. Tech got a commitment from 6’9″, 230 lbs. Maurice Kirby out of Arizona. Kirby originally committed to arizona state to be close to home (Chandler, AZ is just southeast of Phoenix and a few miles from Tempe, where asu is), but later re-opened his recruitment.

Kirby might be a huge recruit physically, but he was not a big recruit nationally. Tech beat out the likes of northern arizona, loyola-chicago, and brown to get him. He is rated just a 2-star by Rivals and ESPN Recruiting Nation (#37 center on the ESPN list), and wasn’t rated at all by 247Sports. Still, we need beef, and he’ll bring that. Is Kirby a project or was he just undervalued? Time will tell, but probably worth the gamble given Tech has 5 scholarships available this year and Maurice is just the third commit (along with another center, Trevor Thompson, and wing Donte Clark).

Here’s a look at how Virginia Tech, and their opponents, did when reaching a certain points scored range. Note that the points scored includes overtime (so final total).

Point Range

VT’s Record

Opp Record vs VT

Scoring 70+

9-0

6-1*

60-69

5-6

7-9

50-59

1-9

3-4

<50

1-2

1-2

Totals

16-17

17-16

No real surprises here — when you can score the ball, you increase your chances of winning. In fact, VT was 100% when scoring 70-plus, something they only did once in 2012 and that was with the benefit of an overtime. And when you can’t score, you lose — Tech was 2-11 in games where they were held under 60 points (amazingly their opponents were 4-6 (that’s a higher percentage of wins than you’d expect), meaning the Hokies were losing close, low scoring games).

*The only game where an opponent scored more than 70 and lost was the georgia tech at VT game, and that went to overtime where neither team had 70 in regulation.

MVP: None- I’m sorry, but teams that go 5-13 in ACC play (including the Tourney) don’t have a MVP. The obvious choice here would be Erick Green, but he was 3/16 on FGs at the end of halfs and didn’t have any game-winners. He actually averaged 2 more PPG in VT’s 12 ACC losses he played in (he missed @bc) than in their 5 wins (16.5 in losses, 14.6 in wins). His assists per game and steals had minor differences – they were both +0.2 in wins compared to losses. In other words, the better he did scoring wise, the worse Tech did, and the his input in other areas had almost no impact.

Best Player: Erick Green – He was the only Hokie to garner ACC Honors, other than Doe Doe who made the All Freshman Team. Green was 2nd Team All-ACC, leading VT in scoring (15.6 PPG — 4.7 ahead of #2), assists (2.8 per game — almost 1 ahead of anyone else), and steals (1.3). He also appeared to be the closest thing the Hokies had to a leader on this team.

Most Improved: Cadarian Raines – I gave him this honor at midseason because of how much he meant inside to the Hokies, who were usually thin in the post. Jarell Eddie had better numbers, but again, I thought Raines had shown the most progress of any player. Well, we hadn’t seen anything yet. When Davila went down with 3 weeks to go, Cadarian exploded given the extra minutes. He averaged 11 PPG in Tech’s final 7 games and showed very developed post moves (lefty hook, up-and-under move, pick and roll). He looks like he could be a real force next year in this league and easily contend for All-ACC honors.

Freshman of the Year: Dorian Finney-Smith – I gave it to Robert Brown at midseason because I felt he most consistently performed each night. But Brown averaged just 4.8 PPG in ACC play (almost 8 out of conference) and really seemed to hit the wall in league play. Doe Doe really struggled to adjust to ACC competition and went through a stretch in the first half of ACC play where he scored just 14 points in 9 games and missed 25 consecutive shots at one point. But then Dorian refound his stroke and averaged over 8 PPG in Tech’s final 11 contests, plus 7 boards per game. He even averaged more than 2 assists per game in VT’s final 6 games. Doe Doe really needs to get stronger (he was often pushed away from the hoop on offensive and was overmatched on defense) and he needs to develop a midrange jumper (I’m not sure he hit a single shot from between 12-17 feet in ACC play). But we finally started to see the progress down the stretch. He looked like it was starting to click. Can he develop in a C.J. Leslie-type player next year? We’ll see.

Offense: D- – Tech never reached 70 points in regulation in their final 20 games. That’s pathetic. They couldn’t execute a fastbreak to save their life (outscored 32-0 in fastbreak points in their final 2 games and scored just 40 fastbreak points in their 9 home games in 2012). Even VT’s FT shooting, which was best in the league for a long while, collapsed down the stretch. This was a team that couldn’t score in the half court or in transition and finished last in ACC play in FG% (the only team under 40%). The one redeeming thing is their 3-point shooting – Tech finished 2nd in the league in 3-Pt % for the year, and 3rd in ACC games. Well, one other positive was Turnover Margin – Tech was 2nd in the ACC so they protected the ball.

Defense: D+ – Usually a staple of Tech teams, but the Hokies were poor in ACC play on the defense end. They finished 10th in the league in FG% Defense in ACC play. Even 3-Pt% Defense, which was #1 in the nation entering ACC play, was just 5th in the league. The Hokies were dead last in the league in Defensive Rebounding %, too. In Tech’s final 9 games, 4 teams shot over 50% against VT, including 3 hitting more than 55% of their shots. For whatever reason, Tech really took duke out of their game — the devils shot 39% and 37% in the teams’ two meetings down the stretch. But other than those games, there were too many easy layups for teams, or fastbreak buckets (that often were a result of lazy perimeter passes on offense or guys not coming to receive the ball).

Coaching: D – Never really saw progress in terms of improvent in our weaknesses mentioned on offense and defense. Although out of bounds plays on the offensive end were very effective late in the year. But offense got worse if anything as the year went on, and defense seemed to digress, too. Next year is Bust Or Brackets for this staff, I’m afraid.

Erick Green and Robert Brown both scored 16 points and Dorian Finney-Smith had 12 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the depth and talent of the dookies. The Hokies lost 56-60 in the ACC quarterfinals Friday night in Atlanta.

The loss effectively ends Virginia Tech’s season, their first losing season since the 2005-2006 campaign. This year’s team finished 16-17.

While there was a lot to be unhappy about during the season, on the whole, there is room for optimism going into next year. You get Green back to lead the team as a senior, four rising sophomores that saw significant minutes as true freshmen, and an established big man in Cadarian Raines, who came on strong down the stretch.

As for tonight’s game against duke, the Hokies suffered through their usual scoring drought, going nearly 15 minutes in the second half only scoring two field goals. And that ultimately cost them the game as we’ve seen so often this season.

Doe Doe: Everyone has been talking about how good Cadarian Raines has been the last 3 weeks, and rightfully so (averaging just under 12 PPG over the last 6 games), but Dorian Finney-Smith has quietly turned things around, too. Look at the tale of his three seasons, so to speak.

PPG

RPG

First 13 Games

8.4

8.1

Next 9 Games

1.6

5.3

Last 10 Games

8.4

6.7

TOTAL

6.3

6.8

Dorian is also 11/28 from behind the arc in those last 10 games, a 39% clip (remember when he missed 25 straight shots at one point, from inside and outside the arc?). So congrats to him on finding his stroke again. The disappointment has been his foul shooting, he’s 6/17 in his last 4 games and hasn’t made both in a 2-shot situation in 8 opportunities. But all in all, he’s at least gotten back to the player he was early in the season.

Random: At one point on Thursday I gave Doe Doe a new nickname — Bambi — for how timid he is on the drive. Then he showed me up by getting two nice drive-and-finishes.

VT vs duke:

duke will not have Ryan Kelly on Friday night (so you’re sayin’ there’s a chance)… but VT had just 7 scholarship players on Thursday, forcing 5 guys to play 30+ minutes. There is some good news on Rankin, though, there’s a solid chance he’ll play Friday.

Tech stayed in this game thanks to fantastic defense (duke was getting no transition opportunities which keep the score down) and great days from Raines, Green, and Hudson – 16 points each

Green and Raines had shots at the end of regulation to win it for VT

Rivers was too much off the dribble for Tech (and the refs treated him like Lebron — he had 17 FTAs leading to 23 points… Curry added 19)

Ryan Kelly had 8 in this game (He’s out)

VT was called for 25 fouls while duke just 13 (typical)

The Hokies stayed in that game at duke, and had a chance to win it, because of their transition defense. They made this it a half court game, and with Raines dominating inside, Green in the midrange, and Zo outside, VT had a chance to win. But with Tech likely tired after everyone playing so many minutes Thursday night, will the 7 or 8 scholarship guys have enough in the tank and their legs to slow down duke again?

The Hokies take the rubber match of their 3-game series with the clemson tigers, knocking off the higher seed in the First Round of the ACC Tournament 68-63 in Atlanta. This exacted some measure of revenge for the tigers taking down the Hokies in this season’s ACC Football Championship Game.

The 5-point victory was Tech’s largest margin of victory this calendar year (their previous high was 2-points).

Cancel your tee times for Friday, the Hokies used their expansive close game experience and pulled away from the clemson tigers down the stretch, winning 68-63 in the First Round of the ACC Tournament. Tech moves back to .500 at 16-16 on the season and will face #2-seed duke (without Ryan Kelly) at 7 PM on Friday night in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals.

The Hokies captured the season series, winning for the 2nd time in 3 games against clemson this season. And how crazy is this — Tech’s 5-point margin of victory is their largest of 2012… by 3 points (their previous largest win this calendar year was by 2 points).

Erick Green led the Hokies with 24 points. clemson held him to just 8 last Thursday at clemson, snapping his string of 30 consecutive double digit games. In fact, Green had scored just 25 total points in his previous 3 games against the tigers, which he almost equaled tonight. The 2nd-Team All-ACCer hit 7/11 from the field, 2/4 from deep, and 8/8 from the line (including 4/4 in one-and-one situations).

Stat of the Game: Don’t Go Green… Until Tonight – Green (24 points) hadn’t scored more than 16 points in any of Tech’s previous 9 wins before tonight. But he had scored 17 or more in 8 Tech’s last 13 losses.

Tech’s best player was the best player on the floor tonight, and carried the Hokies. After clemson cut a 61-52 VT lead to 61-57 in a span of 15 seconds with 1:50 to go, Green drove the floor and laid in an acrobatic layup to put the Hokies back up 6 with 100 seconds to go.

Old Man River (Dorenzo Hudson) also stepped up, decided his career wouldn’t end tonight. Zo hit 6/12 FGs, 3/7 3-pointers, and 4/4 from the stripe to tally 19 points.

The Hokies played without point guard Marquis Rankin, who is out with a knee injury, and Victor Davila, dropping them to 7 scholarship players (deja vu all over again). 5 Hokies played 30 minutes or more, including 36 from Doe Doe.

Dorian Finney-Smith had another solid game (he’s on a nice 10 game stretch), scoring 8 points and snagging 8 boards, including 4 on the offensive end to extend possessions. He also ran the point some with Rankin out and Young (ACC steals leader) on Green. Doe Doe showed some nice drives, getting to the rack for tough layups twice, including a runner at the end of the shot clock that put VT up 61-52 with 2:25 to go. Doe Doe added 3 steals, too.

Cadarian Raines had a solid game with 9 points on 4/6 shooting, but clemson really focused on keeping the ball away from him. Booker did a solid job defending Raines in the post, but that led to Devin’s 4 fouls.

clemson got average games from their stars — Freshman Devin Coleman was the surprising scoring leader for the tigers with 15, most on drives to the rack. It was his career high, in fact, he had never reached double digits before. He even hit a 3-pointer despite being 2/17 on the year from long range.

Senior Andre Young and junior Milton Jennings had 13 each, while senior Tanner Smith had 12. Tech limited Devin Booker to just 7 points (only 4 FG attempts). Booker was also hit with a flagrant-1 foul when he elbowed Cadarian Raines with 4 minutes to go, allowing the Hokies to hit 1/2 FTs and get the ball (Tech converted).

clemson came into this game averaging 8.8 steals per game, but Virginia Tech did an excellent job of protecting the ball, allowing just 2 steals for the tigers (VT had 5 steals). The Hokies even got some transition buckets — two layups on fastbreaks off turnovers (they actually passed the ball once on the break!!! EG to Zo!) and two 3-pointers in transition by Hudson.

The whistles were much more prevalent in the 2nd half. clemson was called for just 1 foul in the first half, and just two FTs were attempted (by clemson). But Tech was aggressive getting to the rack in the 2nd half and drew 12 fouls on the tigers and hit 17/20 FTs (that’s more like it — Tech had been just 58% from the line since the start of the @florida state game).

The surprise was clemson’s 3-point shooting. The tigers were 0/10 from behind the arc at clemson last week, and just 2/27 in the 2 games vs VT. But the tigers hit 5/9 from deep in the first half and started 6/10 from 3-point range… then they went back to being clemson, hitting just 2/12 from deep in the final 18 minutes.

The Hokies just missed 70 points (they still have not reached 70 in regulation in 18 games in 2012).

VT shot 42% from the field, 30% on 3s (7/23), and 85% on FTs (17/20). Tech had 11 offensive rebounds to just 9 by clemson (clemson had 33 offensive rebounds in the previous 2 games vs VT).

clemson shot over 50% in the first half, but just 46% from the game. They were 36% on 3s (8/22 – – but 2/12 to end the game), and 9/15 from the line (60%).

GAME FLOW:

clemson jumped ahead 8-2

VT went on a 14-3 run to go ahead 16-11

clemson closed the half on a 14-3 run of their own to go into the break up 35-30

VT scored just 3 points in the final 5:15 of the 1st half (all on a Brown 3)

Tech started the 2nd half on a 7-1 run to go ahead 37-36, then went almost 6 minutes without a FG (but 5 FTs)

The game stayed tight from 46-44 (clemson) to 52-52 with under 6 minutes to go

Hudson and Green hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put VT up 58-52 with 4 minutes to go and the game never got closer than 4 after that

The Hokies went on a 13-2 run after trailing 50-48 with 7 minutes to go to lead 61-52 with 2:05 left

VT hit 5/6 FTs in the final 2 minutes, clemson went just 3/6 from the line (and that’s not counting a FT Tanner Smith missed on a lane violation)

Spread: clemson by 3.5 (Spread has moved a point up from 2.5 — people are betting on clemson!)

For the second Thursday in a row the Hokies and c-l-e-m-s-ohhhhh-n will do battle, but this time with survival at stake. If the Hokies lose, their season is over in all likelihood. It is not believed that Tech will accept a bid to a tournament lower than the NIT, and VT would likely have to win 3 games in the Dirty, Dirty to have any shot at the NIT for a 5th year in a row. The Hokies come in at 15-16 overall, so they must win at least 2 games to avoid finishing with a losing record.

But enough about anything other than Thursday. The Hokies come into this game struggling, having lost 4 in a row, while the tigers have won 5 of 7, including that meeting last Thursday at clemson. If the Hokies play like they did Sunday against nc state, you can go ahead and make a tee time for Friday, Tech will be done for the season.

These two teams are evenly matched. In fact, each team won by exactly two points at home this year. And in both games the road team had a chance to tie the game at the free throw line with a couple of seconds left, and in both cases, missed both.

Note: Erick Green was named to the All-ACC Second Team and Dorian Finney-Smith was selected to the All Freshman Team for the ACC.

Tech jumped out to big leads in both games. In Blacksburg, VT led by as many as 17 in the 1st half and took a 42-28 lead to the break. The Hokies led by 14 with 5:30 to go, but took a knee the rest of the game and needed K.J. McDaniels (14 points and 6 dunks) to miss 2 free throws with 3 seconds left, and Tanner Smith to miss a wide open 15-footer at the buzzer from the corner to secure the win. The tigers snagged 22 offensive rebounds but where just 2/17 on 3-pointers.

At clemson, the Hokies jumped ahead 16-6 but went scoreless for more than 6-1/2 minutes and trailed at the break 33-31. The tigers threatened to pull away in the 2nd half, leading by as many as 8, but VT tied it with 3 minutes to go. Neither team scored in the final 2:45 and 2 missed free throws by Cadarian Raines that could have tied the game with 5 seconds left sent the Hokies to defeat (although Raines was the VT player of the game with 12 points and 8 rebounds). clemson outscored VT on the fastbreak 13-0, but went 0/10 from behind the arc.

Jarell Eddie scored exactly 15 points in both meetings and is 5/12 from deep against the tigers.

Dorian Finney-Smith seems to be finding his game. He was 8/17 from 3-point range in his final 5 games and started converting some of his drives. Doe Doe just needs a midrange game.

Erick Green finished 9th in the ACC with 15.2 PPG and 10th in FT% (75%).

The Hokies had a positive Turnover Margin in 11 of their 16 ACC games. VT finished 2nd in the ACC in TO Margin (+2.6… yet they get no Fastbreak Points…).

The Bad:

Tech lost their final 4 ACC games after winning 3 of 5.

VT was blown out in 4 ACC games. The other 12 were decided by 4 points or less, or in OT. Tech went 4-8 in those games, losing 4 of the final 5.

Tech was outrebounded in 13 of their 16 ACC games. They finished 11th in Rebounding Margin (-5.8 per game) and 12th in Defensive Rebounding % (64%).

4 of the Hokies final 7 opponents shot better than 50% from the field.

The Ugly:

58% – Tech entered the florida state game #1 in FT% in ACC games at 105/139 (75.5%). They finished in 8th place thanks to 59/101 from the line in their final 6 games (58%), starting with their 3/10 (in 12 opportunities) down the stretch against fsu that cost them that game.

32-0: VT was outscored 32-0 in Fastbreak Points in their final 2 games against clemson (13) and nc state (19). They were outscored 23-0 in their final two home games (uva 4-0).

40: In the Hokies’ 9 home games in 2012 (counting byu), they scored just 40 total Fastbreak Points, never reaching double digits in a game. They scored just 33 in their 8 ACC home games (4.1 per game). VT scored just 13 Fastbreak Points in their final 5 home games (2.6 per game).

VT finished last in the ACC in FG% in ACC play (under 40%). They were just 10th in FG% Defense.

Tech never reached 70 points in regulation in 2012 in 17 games, were held to 60 or fewer points in 11 of 16 ACC games (in regulation), and didn’t reach 50 in 3 games.

The Hokies finished tied for last in the ACC in another down year for the league. Tech also fell below .500 (15-16) for the first time all year after entering conference play at 11-3.

Virginia Tech senior forward Dorenzo Hudson played his final regular season game at the Cassell Coliseum on Sunday, March 4. The Hokies lost to N.C. State.

Well, you didn’t have to sit through another Hokie heartbreaker Sunday night, because Tech played with no heart in their regular season finale. 12 of Tech’s previous 15 ACC games had been decided by 4 points or less or in OT (and that’s not counting the 2-point loss to byu. VT was just 4-9 in those games including byu. The students weren’t around Sunday night (Spring Break), and I’m not sure the Hokie players weren’t also somewhere warmer. This game was over by the 7-minute mark when state went up 58-47. The Hokies dropped their 2nd straight Senior Night, falling to the nc state wolfpack 70-58. BOXSCORE

The pack used two big runs to fuel their win, a 16-2 run in the first half to go up 21-12, and an 11-0 run in the 2nd half to bury the Hokies, going ahead 62-49 with 5 minutes left. Tech went scoreless for almost 6 minutes during that stretch (stop the presses).

Tech finished the ACC regular season at 4-12, tying the 2005-06 season for their worst record in 8 years in the league. Tech also finished with a losing record at home in ACC play for just the 2nd time, going 3-5. The Hokies finish tied for last place in the ACC with wake, georgia tech, and boston college, but get the 10th seed due to head-to-head-to-head-to-head record. This is the first time VT has finished tied for last (in ’05-06 wake was worse than VT). nc state moved to 9-7 with the win and locked up the #5 seed for the ACC Tournament. The Hokies also fell to 15-16 on the season, the first time they’ve been below .500 all year (VT was 11-3 entering conference play).

Stat of the Game: In Tech’s last 2 games, they’ve been outscored on Fastbreak Points 32-0, including 19-0 tonight. The Hokies didn’t score a Fastbreak Point in their final 2 home games (0 against uva). state regularly got out and run (either off steals/breakaways, or outlets off VT misses), leading to many easy buckets.

The Hokies finish as the #10 seed and will face #7 clemson for the second Thursday in a row, this time in Atlanta in the ACC Tournament. The game is this coming Thursday at 7 PM.

Erick Green had his 2nd straight sub-par game. After scoring in double digits in 30 straight games (including his first 25 of this season), Green was held to 8 Thursday at clemson, and while he did score 12 tonight, he went without a field goal in the first half (he was benched to start the 2nd half) and scored 8 of his 12 in garbage time after the outcome was decided. He was just 4/13 from the field (he started 1/10).

The only bright spots for Tech were Cadarian Raines and Dorian Finney-Smith. Raines led the Hokies with 15 on 6/10 shooting. He’s averaged over 12 PPG over his last 5. Doe Doe also looked sharp, scoring 14 on 5/9 from the field and 3/4 from deep. He even had a nice drive and left-handed runner.

nc state finished with 18 turnovers compared to just 7 by VT. But despite the +11 advantage there, the Hokies lost by 12 (see Fastbreak Points… you have to convert TOs to easy points!).

Game Flow:

Things started well for the Hokies with Tech going ahead 10-5 on a Robert Brown 3-pointer with 14:23 to go in the 1st half. But nc state went on a 9-0/16-2 run after that point to jump on top 21-12. state would lead by at least 5 the rest of the half, and scored 4 points in the final 10 seconds of the half thanks to another lazy VT pass.

After 2 free throws by C.J. Leslie, Tech had the ball with 10 seconds to go. But a lazy pass by Marquis Rankin was intercepted by C.J. Williams who laid in a layup just before the buzzer to put the pack up 38-29 at the break.

state shot over 50% for the first half. Tech’s defense looked slow (or disinterested), allowing Scott Wood to go for 14 and Leslie to tally 12. Raines had another great half, leading Tech with 9 points.

In the second half it seemed like the Whistle Song for a while, at least on the Hokies. Tech was called for 8 fouls before the Under-12 media timeout, the last of which was the 5th foul on Jarell Eddie. Eddie ‘fouled’ Wood on a 3-point attempt, disqualifying Jarell with just 5 points and 11:49 to go.

Tech would cut the state lead to 51-47 with 10:30 to go on Green’s 4th point, but that’s when the pack went on that 11-0 run to put the game away, with Tech going scoreless for almost 6 minutes (has their been an ACC game yet VT hasn’t gone scoreless for at least 5 minutes at some point???).

Spread: VT by 1.5 – VT hasn’t covered in a game they’ve been favored in during 2012.

Every year it is both a thrilling and sad day. A day of rejoice, and a day of remembrance. Sunday might be our final glimpse at Hokies 2G*, as redshirt senior Dorenzo Hudson plays his final game at the Cassell. Senior Victor Davila will also be in the Cassell for the final time, but it remains to be seen if he can even play. He’s missed 5 straight games with a groin injury. Senior walk-on Joey Racer, who has scored 2 points in 5 games this year, will also dress for the final time in the Cassell.

Here’s some factoids on the seniors:

79-24: Tech’s record in games Zo’s played in.

192: Combined starts by Davila (102) and Hudson (90).

1890: Combined points by Zo (1170) and Davila (720).

32nd: Hudson’s rank on the VT career scoring list.

49-19: Tech’s record at the Cassell in games Hudson has played in. Victor has also been a part of 49 home wins. Let’s get 50!

*Hokies 2G (Coach Greenberg’s 2nd Generation of players) was comprised of the 2007 VT Recruiting Class, which included Zo, Malcolm Delaney, Jeff Allen, Terrell Bell, JT Thompson, and Hank Thorns — it is possible JT will keep 2G in play next year if he decides to return for a 6th season.

For the Hokies, they still have something to play for. While they aren’t fighting for a NCAA Tournament bid this year on Senior Night, they are playing for a few things:

NIT: Tech must win to stay over .500 and have any shot at an NIT bid.

3-4: Tech is 3-4 in ACC games at the Cassell this year. They have had just one losing ACC home campaign in 7 previous seasons (2005-06 — 2-6).

Tech would avoid tying their worst ACC finish with a win (they were 4-12 in 05-06).

50 career home wins for VD and Zo with a win.

Also, Tech’s ACC Tournament seed is on the line: Note: bc got waxed at miami and ga tech pulled away from wake late, so wake, gt, and bc are 4-12 in the clubhouse

#9: If the Hokies win Sunday, they are the #9 seed and play the #8, maryland, at noon on Thursday.

#10: If VT loses to state, they’ll be the #10 seed and play the #7 seed (could be miami, uva, or clemson). wake would be the #9, gt #11, and bc #12.

nc state: The pack-backers are trying to forget the last 5 years under Sidney Lowe, their ricky stokes. They won just 25 regular season ACC games in that time, never more than 6 in a season. Mark Gottfried has already led them to 2 more win they they ever had under Lowe (8), and can lock up their first winning season since they ran Sendek out of town.

state started out 7-3 in ACC play and led at duke by 20. But then the pack reverted back to their Lowe ways, blowing that lead, the game, and losing 4 in a row to drop to 7-7 in the ACC. But they swept miami, winning on Leap Day over the canes, and find themselves in a 4-way tie with uva, miami, and clemson. To get the #4 seed and a bye in the ACC Tourney, state would need to beat VT, and have uva and clemson lose. uva needs to win and not finish in a 2-way tie with clemson.

Things are looking up for state, though. They are bringing in perhaps the top recruiting class in the nation for next year. Gottfried does have a history of shadiness, though (where there’s smoke…???).

SERIES:

Overall: state 34-14

At VT: state 10-7

At VT in ACC Play: VT 3-2 (VT 2 in a row)

Overall in ACC Play: state 6-5

Last Meeting (2/2/11): VT 77, @ nc state 69

STARTERS:

VIRGINIA TECH

Pos

# Player

Height

Year

PPG

PG

11 Green

6-3

Jr

15.4

SG

5 HUDSON

6-5

SR

11.0

G

24 RACER

6-1

SR

0.4

PF

4 Raines

6-9

r-So

5.5

C

14 DAVILA

6-8

SR

7.5

Bench

1 Brown

6-5

Fr

6.7

15 Finney-Smith

6-8

Fr

6.0

31 Eddie

6-7

So

9.5

nc state

Pos

# Player

Height

Year

PPG

G

2 Brown

6-5

So

12.6

G

21 Williams

6-5

Sr

11.3

F

15 Wood

6-6

Jr

12.4

F

5 Leslie

6-8

So

14.2

F

1 Howell

6-8

Jr

10.9

Bench

0 Painter^

6-9

Jr

4.1

*I’m listing Davila as the starter since it is Senior Day. Finney-Smith will start in his place if he can’t go.

^ Painter is a cousin of VT’s offensive lineman, Vinston Painter

state will only go about 2-deep on their bench. They have no depth and they get just 11 bench points per game. But they are extremely balanced in their starting lineup – all 5 starters average in double figures.

Scott Wood has the muscles of a pencil. He loves to shoot the 3 and hasn’t added the drive like Ryan Kelly has for duke. Wood hits 42% of his 3s (78 makes), both of which are #1 or tied for #1 in the ACC. Wood made 66 consecutive FTs this season, an ACC record (he’s 92% for the year).

C.J. Leslie is their most athletic and most talented player.

Howell is #4 in the ACC in rebounds per game (9.2)

STATS:

Note: these stats are for ACC games ONLY.

VT

nc state

ACC RANKING

IN

PARENTHESIS

PPG

60.0 (9)

70.3 (3)

PPG vs

64.1 (4)

68.7 (10)

FT%

70% (7)

68% (9)

FG%

40% (12)

44% (3)

3-Pt%

37% (1)

35% (4)

Made 3s PG

6.2 (4)

5.2 (8)

FG% D

44% (10)

42% (6)

3-Pt% D

32% (5)

32% (4)

Blocks

2.7 (t11)

3.8 (6)

Steals

5.4 (t7)

7.3 (3)

TO Margin

+2.1 (2)

+0.9 (5)

Off Reb %

29% (9)

34% (3)

Def Reb %

65% (12)

67% (10)

BORING FACTS ABOUT nc state:

Founded: 1887

Enrollment: 23.7 undergrad, 7.4 postgrad

National Titles (Basketball): 1974 and 1983

ACC Titles (Basketball): 10 – last was in 1987 – 3rd most in the ACC

ACC Football Titles: 7 (tied for 4th most) – none since 1979 – in fact, the two state schools (unc and nc state) haven’t won an ACC football title, or even tied for one, since 1980. There’s no pigskin on Tobacco Road.

Box Score — Another close game. Another close loss. This time the culprit was a combination of a long second-half scoring drought, poor ball handling, and the inability to hit clutch free throws. Sound familiar?

Virginia Tech lost another nail-biter Thursday night in Clemson, S.C., 58-56. The Hokies led for much of the first half, but clemson came roaring back and eventually took the lead and held on for the win.

Trailing 56-58 with 11 seconds to play, Clemson’s Andre Young was called for an offensive foul, giving the Hokies the ball with plenty of time. Tech got the ball across mid court where Seth Greenberg called a timeout.

Dorenzo Hudson inbounded the ball to Erick Green, who hesitated near half court before exploding down the right win and then cut to the basket where he fed a wide open Cadarian Raines in the lane for what appeared to be a game-tying dunk.

But Milton Jennings came from the back side and blocked the shot, but was called for the foul. Raines, a 55 percent free throw shooter, missed the first shot. clemson called a timeout. Raines then missed the second and clemson gathered the rebound as the final 2.2 seconds ticked off.

Erick Green’s streak of consecutive games with at least 10 points came to an end. After scoring only 2 points in the first half, Green hit a pair of three pointers in the second half and that was it.

Virginia Tech is now 4-11 in ACC play and 15-14 overall. The Hokies need a win Sunday against n.c. state to secure a winning record in the regular season and prevent a losing record at home versus ACC teams. Tech is currently 3-4 at home against the ACC this season.

Jarrell Eddie led the Hokies in scoring with 15 points. Raines had another good game with 12 points and 8 rebounds. Old Man Zo added 11 points including a trio of big three pointers that kept the Hokies in the game.

Eddie, despite leading Tech in scoring, had a really bad stretch in the second half. Trailing 39-45 Eddie turned it over leading to a Tanner Smith layup off the fast break at the other end giving the tigers an 8-point lead.

Hudson hit a jumper to keep the Hokies within striking distance, 41-47, but after a series of misses by both teams, Eddie delivered another lazy pass that was intercepted and turned into a fast break score made worse by the fact that Eddie fouled Smith from behind for the “and one.”

Smith missed the free throw and Eddie got the rebound, but then immediately turned it over with another lazy pass, his fifth turnover of the game. This time Eddie didn’t wait to foul, he fouled immediately after turning it over. It was his fourth personal and he went to bench.

Tech didn’t play very smart this evening and a prolonged (5+ minutes) scoring drought in the second half, which has become the norm as of late, doomed the Hokies.

Statistically, the Hokies played a whale of a game, shooting 50 percent from three-point range; 43 percent from the field; and while 55 percent at the free throw line is not particularly good, clemson managed just 56 percent. Not to mention the tigers were 0 for 10 from behind the arc.

But, the tigers made more free throws (14) than Virginia Tech attempted (11). Once again, if the Hokies had made just three more free throws, this game likely would have ended much differently.

Play-by-Play – We pick things up early in the 2nd half

39-40 Eddie hits a three at the shot clock buzzer

U16 Media Timeout Score 39-40 clemson

39-41 Clemson makes 1/2 FTs
— held ball, possession to VT
— Raines air balls off the inbounds pass
— clemson miss, rebound to CR
— Raines called for foul going for the rebound, his 2nd PF
— Green misses a three from the right win
— VT steal, clemson fouls
— Eddie misses a three
39-43 Dreadlocked kid scores for clemson
— Hokies 4+ minutes without a FG (here we go again)

U12 Media Timeout Score 39-43

— Hokies turn it over
— clemson turns it over
— another held ball, possession arrow to clemson (VT can’t hold onto the ball)
39-45 Booker hooks a shot over Raines
— Eddie turns it over
39-47 Smith scores off the VT turnover
41-47 Hudson breaks the 5+ minute FG drought with a jumper
— clemson miss, VT rebounds
— DFS bricks a three (bad, horrible shot)
— clemson misses, VT rebounds
— Hudson misses, VT rebounds
— Eddie commits ANOTHER bad pass turnover, then fouls at the other end, count the bucket
41-49 Smith scores AND gets fouled by Eddie (dumb plays at both ends by Eddie)
41-49 Smith misses the FT
— Eddie gets the rebound off the missed FT and then TURNS IT OVER AGAIN
— Eddie then gets called for his 4th personal foul (just not playing smart)
— Eddie has 5 turnovers
41-49 clemson misses 2 FTs
44-49 Green finally hits a three pointer (5 points)
— Timeout clemson
44-51 Young layup on the inbounds pass, VT standing around doing nothing
47-51 Hudson buries a three pointer
— VT 7/14 from three, 50 percent
— Young misses a three pointer
50-51 DFS gets a big offensive rebound, kicks out to Green for the three pointer
50-53 Young scores and gets fouled, will shoot a FT after the media timeout

U8 Media Timeout Score – 50-53 clemson

— Fastbreak point: VT 0, clemson 13
50-54 Young makes FT
— Eddie back in with 4 PFs
52-54 Raines scores with the hook shot in the lane
— Hudson misses the layup off the fast break off the Brown steal
— Clemson knocks loose ball out of bounds
— DFS and Eddie with 4 PFs
— Booker fouls, VT in the bonus

Spread: clemson by 5.5 (the Hokies have covered in the last 3 games they were ‘dogs in)

March Madness is here again! I’ve got good news/bad news for all you Hokie hoops fans. What do you want first? I heard HipHop say ‘good news’ so let’s start with that (Chuck only wants to hear the bad news… kidding!):

Good news: You don’t have to sweat out another Selection Sunday this year!

Bad news: …because Virginia Tech isn’t going to the Big Dance and unless they start winning some games, won’t even be in the NIT and might be relegated to the CBI or some other made up tournament. Technically you don’t have to have a .500 record to make it, but in reality VT will have to be at least .500 to get in, and even then they might not.

On Thursday night Virginia Tech heads to clemson for their final regular season road game. Tech is 2-3 at Littlejohn since joining the ACC, alternating losses then wins (they are due to win this game since clemson won at clemson last year in the regular season finale, effectively knocking the Hokies out of the NCAA Tournament). But winning in Littlejohn will be a challenge — the tigers are 5-2 at home in ACC play this season.

Tech beat clemson a month ago, jumping out to a 17-point first half lead (that’s how you debate!) and going into halftime up 42-28. So we must have reached 70 points, right? Nope. Tech took a knee the final 6 minutes, and despite having a 14-point lead with 5:30 to go, clemson had two opportunities to tie the game at the end. K.J. McDaniels missed two free throws with 3 seconds left, but Tanner Smith grabbed the offensive rebound and missed a 14-foot jumper at the buzzer, and the Hokies won 67-65. Eddie had 15, Doe Doe 12, and Green 10 for Tech. For the tigers, Young had 14, McDaniels had 14 (almost all on dunks — he had 6 dunks), Booker 11, and Smith 10.

Since that point, clemson has gone 4-2, winning 4 of their last 5. They beat uva by 12 at home. Tech has been very mercurial since that clemson game, playing up to their better competition (narrow losses to fsu, uva, and duke where VT led in the 2nd half in all three), while playing down to the level of the poorer teams (should have lost to bc at home and needed a 3 at the buzzer to beat georgia tech who didn’t have their best player). Which Hokie team will show up Thursday? The Hokies are just 1-6 on the road in league action this year, but since clemson is playing well right now, I assume that means the Hokies will rise to the challenge and play well.

*6’9″ Milton Jennings was suspended for academic reasons for the last meeting, but is back and starting now.

STATS:

Note: these stats are for ACC games ONLY.

VT

clemson

ACC RANKING

IN

PARENTHESIS

PPG

60.3 (9)

65.4 (7)

PPG vs

64.6 (4)

62.2 (2)

FT%

71% (6)

67% (11)

FG%

40% (12)

43% (6)

3-Pt%

36% (2)

32% (9)

Made 3s PG

6.1 (t4)

5.5 (7)

FG% D

44% (10)

45% (11)

3-Pt% D

34% (7)

35% (9)

Blocks

2.8 (10)

3.7 (6)

Steals

5.4 (8)

8.4 (1)

TO Margin

+2.4 (2)

+4.0 (1)

Off Reb %

30% (9)

31% (8)

Def Reb %

65% (12)

67% (10)

Tech was #1 in FT% two weeks ago, now they are smack dab in the middle. As for the rest of the stats, you can see that these are two pretty evenly matched teams on paper. clemson gives up a high FG%, but they get a lot of steals to balance that out. Hence, they don’t give up many points.

Let’s give the tigers some more payback for daring to steal our ACC Football Championship!

If you’re being honest with yourself, the Hokies exceeded expectation today. They were on the road against duke, the No. 5 ranked team in the country that just beat ACC-leading florida state in Tallahassee. Tech was missing Victor Davila, who sat out his fourth straight game with a groin injury. And still, the Hokies (4-10, 15-14) took the blue devils to overtime before falling 70-65.

Cadarian Raines powered the Hokies this afternoon with a career-high 16 points and seemed as comfortable as he’s ever been in the low post. He didn’t seem to have any trouble against Duke’s big men, who didn’t seem to have any real answer for him.

Erick Green extended his ACC-leading double digit scoring streak to 30 games with 16 points, all of which came in the second half. Dorenzo “Old Man Zo” Hudson also got hot late in the game to keep the Hokies in it – the senior scored 16 points.

Raines, Green and Hudson combined for 48 of the Hokies’ 65 points. True freshman Dorian Finney-Smith played a respectable game made even more impressive by the fact it was his first trip to duke where the visiting team automatically spots the dookies 4-5 fouls per half. Doe Doe had 6 points and 12 rebounds, which led Tech.

I’m trying to find something to pin this loss on; missed free throws, a 13-minute scoreless drought, something. But I can’t. The Hokies lost to a better team with more depth. I won’t go as far to say that they have better players, because Tech proved their players were equal to the task. Rather, duke has better depth.

This was a close game from start to finish. The Hokies were in it from the get go and even held off a surge by duke in the first half to keep the game close, and survived a 9-0 run by the dookies in the second half.

Tech’s last five games have been decided by 10 points, five of those were the difference in today’s game. The Hokies had their chances to win today, but couldn’t get the shots to go.

Next up for the Hokies is a road trip to clemson on Thursday, March 1. Tipoff is at 9 p.m.

40-46 Hokies turn it over, Curry steals and lays it in
— duke on a 9-0 run
41-46 DFS makes 1/2 FTs
— duke misses, Hokies rebound an airball
43-46 Green pulls up and buries a long jumper from the top of the key, 30th straight game in double digit scoring for Green
— Eddie called for the foul

U8 Media Timeout Score – 43-46 duke

43-48 Kelly makes 2 FTs
45-48 DFS nice drive and dish to Raines, who shot fakes and then puts it up and in
— Kelly called for the foul on a duke miss, his 4th pf
— Raines misses a hook, but Plumlee called for an over the back, Hudson to the line
47-48 Hudson makes 2 FTs
49-49 Green hits a transition jumper off the duke miss (Green has 12 points, all in the 2nd half)
— duke timeout
49-51 Kelly hits an open shot from the win
51-51 Raines is working Plumlee down low, another nice more, 14 for CR
53-51 Raines follows a miss with a put back, 16 for CR (career high)
53-52 Rivers makes 1/2 FTs
— VT turns it over
— Kelly misses a 3-poiner, Raines rebounds
— Hudson airballs a baseline shot, wanted a foul, but not on duke’s home court
— Kelly called for offensive foul, fouls out, fans boo because duke does not wrong
— VT misses wide open 3-pointer
53-55 Rivers hits a 3-pointer (Rivers with 19 points)
55-55 Green with the tough shot in the lane
— 1:50 left —
58-55 Hudson banks a 3-pointer off the glass
58-57 Plumlee gets an offensive board, puts it back
— VT turns it over (as I predicted)
— 40.3 seconds left
58-58 Rivers makes 1/2 FTs
— VT ball with 30 seconds
— Green misses a shot at the buzzer
— Going to OT